M&M Cake Directions

The day before the party I made a three layers of a simple yellow cake mix in the Wilton 6 x 2 in. Round Pan and two layers in the Wilton 10 x 2 in. Round Pan. Cooled the cakes completely and then wrapped them in plastic wrap to be used the next day.

I made a sugar cookie and the cut out a giant number one with a knife and then baked it. After it came out, the cookie was puffy and rounded (you know the way sugar cookies do), so while it was still warm I cut the edges of the cookie to make sure it was straight and even. The next day I decorated the sugar cookie with a Wilton Open Star Tip (#19). I piped the stars around the edges and then added a mini M&M into the center of the star. Using Wilton Round Decorating Tip #3, I wrote Morgan's name on the cookie.

Finally I made the star burst picks. Using the Stampin' Up Star punch, I punched out stars from cardstock in a variety of bright bold colors. I glued two stars together and alternated the points. Then I hot glued one set of two stars to one side of a bamboo skewer and then two more stars to the other side to create these star bursts.

The morning of the party I made a chocolate frosting and put that between each layer of yellow cake.

Here's the recipe...

{{Chocolate Frosting}}

1 cube butter, melted
2 Tbsp Dutch Processed cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp milk
1 pound powdered sugar

Melt butter and add cocoa powder; mix until smooth. Pour into mixing bowl and add salt, vanilla and milk. Then add powdered sugar and mix well.

*** As an aside... let's learn about Dutch processed cocoa powder. It is a more mellow flavored chocolate and has a darker chocolate color. It is unsweetend and will taste bitter if tasted alone. However, you can substitute a normal unsweetened cocoa powder.

It is a soft frosting, so you can add more powdered sugar to make a thicker consistency.

I was in a bit of a rush and didn't take pictures of the process as I was making the cake, so here is the written directions for now.

First I cut out a cardboard circle that fit the 10 inch layer and another to fit the 6 inch layer. Scoop a dollop of chocolate frosting onto the cardboard and place the first layer of cake on the board. Spread the chocolate frosting on as a filler, then place the second layer. There were 2-ten inch cakes and 3-six inch cakes. After filling the cake, it was time to frost the outside. The cakes were partially frozen to make for easier handling. I had put them into the freezer for about 2 hours and since I was going to be putting Kit Kat candy bars on the outside, I didn't I didn't worry about a crumb coating, I just frosted the cakes. The best part of the decorating process came next. Using the full size Kit Kat bars (not the snack size since they are shorter), break them into two part sections, and then press them into the side of the frosted cake. Use any sort of ribbon and tie it around the cake to finish off the "basket" look (plus the ribbon helps to keep the cake from falling apart in case the Kit Kats don't want to stay on the frosting). After doing this to both the large and small layers, I placed some dowels into the larger cake where the smaller cake was going to be placed. I decided that instead of having the smaller cake in the center of the cake, I would off set the cake towards the back of the larger round cake. I used about 6 dowels to support the weight of the second layer cake on top. After the dowels were in place, the small 6 inch cake was placed on top.

Now... open a bag of M&M's (I chose plain) and pour them onto the top of the large 10 inch cake, filling them to the top of the Kit Kat Basket.

I put the number 1 cookie on top and then the star bursts. Finally it was time to fill this cake basket with more M&M's. Ta dah! Ready to go!

Here was the smash cake for the baby. I used only one 6 inch yellow cake, frosted, and then using a sharp knife I cut the Kit Kats in half, pressed them into the frosting, tied the ribbon, put the candle on top and then poured in the M&M's. Don't you love how quick and easy it is! And so stinkin' cute! It was a hit amongst all the kids (and adults) at the party! They loved seeing all that CANDY!